Instagram to blur nude photos sent via DMs

Instagram is finally protecting its users from unsolicited nude photos.

However, it is also advising people who send them to remove them as soon as they can, according to Daily Mail.

The "nudity protection" update, which blurs nude photographs received through Direct Messages (DMs), is being released by the Meta-owned app.

Similar to technology found in dating apps, it employs artificial intelligence (AI) to recognise the male or female genitalia in sent photographs automatically before hiding them.

However, the receiver still has a chance to tap and see the photo properly, even if they're as young as 13 – which one children's charity has called “entirely insufficient”.

Instagram requires everyone to be at least 13 years old if they want to create an account, a move that is already criticised by experts and the public alike as far too young.

In a statement, Meta said Instagram DMs “overwhelmingly” used harmlessly to send messages and photos to friends and family.

However, sending an unsolicited photo of genitalia constitutes “intimate image abuse”'.

Furthermore, when "sextortion scammers" obtain private photos, they could threaten to post them publicly unless the victim agrees to pay a ransom.